Chapter 3281: The Heavenly Pool Extreme Territory
Fan Qi was in shock and disbelief after learning the truth. He hurriedly transmitted his voice to his Eldest Senior Brother, Han Yun Jin. He stuttered, “E-Eldest Senior Brother! D-Duan… D-duan Ling Tian has l-life… ”
Bang!
Before Fan Qi was done with his message to Han Yun Jin, Duan Ling Tian casually struck with his palm. It was a simple and direct attack, but Fan Qi failed to dodge it. It was not that he did not want to dodge it, but his current state prevented him from doing so. As soon as the palm strike landed on him, the raging s.p.a.ce energy tore Fan Qi into pieces. In just a blink of an eye, only a pool of blood remained where Fan Qi was standing.
Everything happened in just a blink of an eye. It was so fast that it took the Heavenly Pool Palace a moment to react. When they regained their senses, only a purple figure was left hovering above the battle ring like a majestic warrior.
“Fan Qi… is dead?”
“Heavens! Not only was Fan Qi a Six Combos Celestial Lord who had comprehended seven profundities from the law of wind to the mastery stage, but he was also a Pine Willow Divine Tree! And yet, Duan Ling Tian still managed to kill him?”
“Based on the strength Fan Qi displayed earlier, apart from the five strongest prodigious disciples, there should only be a handful of people in the Heavenly Pool Palace who are able to stand their ground in a fight with Fan Qi, right?”
“Why is Duan Ling Tian so strong?”
“It’s quite strange… I wonder what technique Duan Ling Tian used to force Fan Qi back to his human form…”
“That’s right! It has to be some special technique. Otherwise, how could he have killed Fan Qi?”
Due to the unexpected outcome of the battle, there was a huge commotion among the onlookers. All of them were certain of Fan Qi’s victory, especially when Fan Qi revealed he had recently become a Six Combos Celestial Lord at the start of the life-or-death battle. Following that, their conviction began to waver slightly when Duan Ling Tian showed his mastery over the law of s.p.a.ce, putting Fan Qi in a disadvantageous position. Nevertheless, they were still rather confident of Fan Qi’s victory since they knew Fan Qi had yet to unleash all his strength. When Fan Qi finally reverted to his true form, and they discovered he was a Pine Willow Divine True, they grew even more certain that Duan Ling Tian would die. In the end, something beyond their imagination happened! Duan Ling Tian had only casually touched Fan Qi, but Fan Qi was forced back into his human form! Not only that, but Duan Ling Tian had even killed Fan Qi with a casual palm strike!
…
“Little Junior Brother killed… Fan Qi?” When Hong Fei regained his senses, he smiled widely, making his small eyes look even smaller. He had been drenched in cold sweat the entire time he watched Duan Ling Tian’s battle. If something happened to his Little Junior Brother, he would have blamed himself for it. After all, it was his conflict with Liu Jian that led to his Little Junior Brother’s battle with Fan Qi today.
“Little Junior Brother is so strong?” Hu Mei was thoroughly shocked. Although she knew her Little Junior Brother was talented, she did not think he was capable of killing Fan Qi who had reverted to his true form. After all, she, herself, was not absolutely confident she could defeat Fan Qi if Fan Qi reverted to his true form. Perhaps, at best, she would fight to a draw with Fan Qi if he reverted to his true form.
“Little Junior Brother…” Even the usually placid Wen Wan’er was thoroughly shocked by the outcome.
Xu Lang was the only one among the group who did not show his shock outwardly. Instead, he looked at Duan Ling Tian thoughtfully. He could not figure out how Duan Ling Tian forced Fan Qi to return to his human. However, when Duan Ling Tian touched one of the branches before Fan Qi was forced into his human form, he could sense that Fan Qi’s energy was rapidly vanis.h.i.+ng and weakening. Fan Qi’s energy had weakened so much that even his weakest prodigious disciple, Hong Fei, could have easily killed Fan Qi at that time.
…
On the other hand, the expressions of those who were waiting to watch Duan Ling Tian die were, naturally, rather bad.
‘How’s this possible?!’ Han Yun Jin, who had received half of Fan Qi’s message, was dumbfounded. His expression was unsightly, and his eyes flashed with killing intent. What technique did Duan Ling Tian master that allowed him to achieve such a feat?
Then, Han Yun Jin fell deep into his thoughts, mulling over Fan Qi’s unfinished last words. ‘Before Fourth Junior Brother died, he said Duan Ling Tian has… life? What life? What does it mean? What was he trying to say?’
Similarly, Xiao Cong Yi, Gu Chang Jiang, the Martial Dragon Celestial Emperor, and the Smoke Wave Celestial Emperor were shocked by the outcome of the battle.
The two t.i.tled Celestial Emperor, especially Gu Chang Jian, who had come here solely to stop Xu Lang, the Verdant Prairie Celestial Emperor, from intervening in the life-or-death battle were at a loss. After all, like everyone else, they were convinced Duan Ling Tian would certainly die in that life-or-death battle. They felt like a joke now that Duan Ling Tian survived without even needing Xu Lang to intervene.
“d.a.m.n it! Why is Duan Ling Tian so strong?” Huang Lu Nan’s expression darkened. He finally realized that Duan Ling Tian was not just a little stronger than him, but Duan Ling Tian was superior to him in all aspects. Apart from disappointment, he felt a sense of relief as well. Cold sweat trickled down from his forehead when he recalled his battle with Duan Ling Tian. Based on Duan Ling Tian’s strength, it was obvious that Duan Ling Tian had been merciful to him during their battle.
Lei Jun scoffed before he turned to leave. He had come here solely to watch Fan Qi defeat Duan Ling Tian. He had been delighted when he heard Fan Qi challenged Duan Ling Tian to a life-or-death battle with no option to surrender. He was convinced Duan Ling Tian was going to die; how could he not be happy? Alas, not only did Duan Ling Tian survive, but Duan Ling Tian managed to easily kill Fan Qi even after Fan Qi reverted to his true form in such a short time. Most importantly, he was aware that even he was not capable of killing Fan Qi in such a short time once Fan Qi reverted to his true form!
‘Duan Ling Tian clearly used some special technique that Fan Qi was vulnerable to. His technique might be incredibly effective when used on Fan Qi, but it might not work on me. I’m sure I can kill him in three breaths,’ Lei Jun speculated inwardly. Despite evidence showing that Duan Ling Tian was, perhaps, stronger than him, Lei Jun did not see Duan Ling Tian as a threat at all. In his opinion, it was impossible for a puny Celestial Lord like Duan Ling Tian to cause him real harm.
…
At this moment, Duan Ling Tian, who had returned to stand with Xu Lang and the others, turned to look at Han Yun Jin and said airily, “Han Yun Jin, your Fourth Junior Brother was quite mediocre. Didn’t you say I’d die if I faced him? It seems like your eyesight is pretty bad…”
When Duan Ling Tian finished speaking, a contemptuous smile appeared on his face, and his eyes flashed with killing intent. If there were no one else around, he would have used every technique available to him to kill Han Yun Jin.
Upon hearing Duan Ling Tian’s words, the Heavenly Pool Palace disciples nearby s.h.i.+fted their eyes to Han Yun Jin immediately.
“Senior Brother Han Yun Jin said that to Duan Ling Tian?”
“It’s understandable. After all, Senior Brother Han Yun Jin probably didn’t expect that Duan Ling Tian’s capable of killing Fan Qi…”
Someone snickered. “Han Yun Jin has to eat his own words now!”
Meanwhile, Han Yun Jin’s expression turned even more unsightly when he heard the whispered conversations in his surroundings. He looked at Duan Ling Tian frostily as he said disdainfully, “Duan Ling Tian, I still haven’t figured out how you killed my Fourth Junior Brother… Regardless, you’re still not qualified to talk to me…”
“Is that so?” Duan Ling Tian met Han Yun Jin’s eyes and the corners of his lips lifted slightly before he said, “Well, why don’t both of us enter a life-or-death battle as well?”
Duan Ling Tian glared at Han Yun Jin before the corner of his mouth slightly opened, “Well… How about a life-or-death battle between you and I?”
Han Yun Jin sneered. “Fine, you asked for this…”
Han Yun Jin was afraid of Duan Ling Tian’s potential; he had no doubt Duan Ling Tian would definitely pose a threat to him in the future. He was not certain he would still be able to defeat Duan Ling Tian after a few hundred years. Nevertheless, the current Duan Ling Tian was as puny as an ant in his eyes.
Duan Ling Tian’s smile widened as he asked, “Let’s set our life-or-death battle for a year later in the Heavenly Pool Extreme Territory. Do you dare accept the challenge?”
The Heavenly Pool Extreme Territory was a training ground in the Heavenly Pool Palace. Only the two opponents could enter the Heavenly Pool Extreme Territory to fight; no one else would be able to enter. Moreover, the battle would not be visible outside of the Heavenly Pool Extreme Territory. Apart from that, external items such as Celestial Talismans, Celestial Pills, and Celestial Weapons, including purely defensive Celestial Weapons, were prohibited in the Heavenly Pool Extreme Territory.
“The Heavenly Pool Extreme Territory?” Han Yun Jin’s eyes narrowed upon hearing Duan Ling Tian’s words. He did not expect Duan Ling Tian to choose the Heavenly Pool Extreme Territory as the venue of their life-or-death battle. Although he wished for nothing more than to kill Duan Ling Tian at this moment, he was not someone who acted impulsively. It was clear to him that Duan Ling Tian had used some secret technique to kill his Fourth Junior Brother earlier. He had spoken to the Martial Dragon Celestial Emperor and the Smoke Wave Celestial Emperor as well, and both t.i.tled Celestial Emperors could not figure out the technique Duan Ling Tian had used as well. Therefore, he was certain that there had to be a reason why Duan Ling Tian chose the Heavenly Palace Extreme Territory for their battle.